Parole and probation, parole was abolished in both the Florida State and federal systems in the 1980s, so parole cases are very rare now. Although I have represented some inmates serving old sentences in parole hearings. To substitute parole, both state and federal justice systems have created comparable programs for inmates finishing their prison sentences.
In the Federal system, sentenced prisoners are subject to “controlled release” after finishing their terms of imprisonment, normally requires post-conviction supervision. Article III Federal Courts administer controlled release, and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines apply to violations of controlled release. In the State system, the Florida Department of Corrections oversees a “supervised release” program for qualified prisoners. In contrast to the Federal program, the state system is purely administrative, meaning the Circuit Court judges do not become involved in a supervised release case until the prisoner has exhausted all his or her administrative remedies.
Probation, unlike parole, still exists in both Florida and Federal systems. I have represented literally hundreds of people in probations proceedings. These proceedings include probations violation hearings; motions to modify probation, motions for early termination of probations, motions to transfer probation supervision, along with other probations-related issues.
In this post, you read about parole and probation in Florida. However, this post also relates to appellate practices as well. Paroles are nearly entirely possible because of the appellate sector in law. The Courts treat probations as a suspended sentence. Full knowledge of the terms and circumstances involved is essential to one facing a violation proceeding.